Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1887-02-17

The jury Withdrew tstke scrub.
Their voices were soon ID iIzbose the
music of the mOcking hirs no had
gathered in thicket near "a. The
negroes were having hot dots, and
the birds seemed to BE- enjo1ng the
scene. In few minutes salof the
colored men returned. he sld the
Justice that the jury had sspshim for
the testimony.
'Pshawl exclaimed Sutton slhaven't
got the testimony. You lse<r<;t, and
have got all laere is of i. 1ksre is
-a- @eseracx mza shook !
rJoined his fellows in BE- s.a
Within three minutes. hove Yer, he
reappeared.
EFF de jury don't got de testimony.
how de debbil de jury done gwine to
weigh it?
Weigh it in your minds" screamed
the almost frantic Justice. You heard
all the evidence, and it's your place to
decide upon it, not mine
Back went the dumb founded jury
men. The mocking birds pitched in
with renewed energy. but the voices
of the disputingju werestill heard
above their shrill whistling. AT last
the noise partly died away and the
jury were seen picking their way
through the palmetto scrub. They
approached his Honor and asked per-
mission to examine the body. He
assented and the dead man was though.
ly overhauled. They felt of his pulse,
put their ears to his heart, turned an
old jack-knife and several nickels out
of his pocket, and looked into his
mouth.
Done gone. said the juryman with
the fish line belt, and all again retired
TO the scrub.
The were gone but a few seconds.
On their return Justice Sutton pulled
a blank and pencil out of his pocket
and prepared to record the verdict.
We'll, gentlemen. he said, have
you found a verdict in this case?'
Yes, sab was the reply.
What is it?' asked his Honor wet
ting the end of his pencil.
De wardict am dat de cullered man
~as dead. und datns-asd. no business
out dab on de watah.'
Good Godr exclaimed Sutton, is
that alp
Dat am de wardick, was the an
swer.
Now look here Sutton broke ou;,
what the matter with you? Haven't
You got common sense? ANY cursed
fool knows the man is dead. He Was
out in the water, was caught by cramps,
and drowned. It's as plain as the
nose Oh your face. The Law makes 1t
your duty to ascertain the cause OF MS
death. You haven't even found out
his name. Go back and bring In Il
common sense verdict or | II fine every
mothers son Of you. The man Was
caught by cramps and drowned. That's
all there is of the case.
The terrified jury walked back to
the scrub and the jolly mocking birds
greeted them with a new food Of
melody. They were out nearly twenty
minutes. Justice Sutton, book and
pencil in hand, impatiently awaited
their return. The weather was hot,
and the negroes came out of the brush
with streaming faces. They had had
a hard time. The brought in the fol-
lowing verdict:
De cullered man am dead. His
name it am Ephriam Jenkins. Tie
cause Of bis deathit am crabs. Grabs
done caught him an he an drowned.
II the pOles'Of aasgastse battery
had been applied to Ssstoas temples
he could not have been more excited,
'D-n your stupid souls he'eried,
Did you ever hear Of q crab big enough
to catch niger?
Hold on dab. Judge. broke in one
of the jurymen. Dat al am you,
wardick. You done tole de jury tat
de crabs caught Eph. an he am drown
ed
Grabs be d-dl' shrieked his Hon
or. 1 said cramps. Get away from
here quick, or I'll put fine on every
man of you. Hope / may be sho, ii
ever put another nigger on a jury.
The colored men sloped, and Sutton
fixed up the verdict to suit himself
The negroes had intended to fine the
clergyman $40 :or dropping the tool,
in the river, 'becouse. said they. Vi
ought to make some money we'll as a,
Judge
Even since then they firmly believ:
that they were outrageousiy swindled
" y. journalist.
EE- Senator Hearst, of California
ssys be owns a paper which be pevel
reads. His exact opposite Is the MAI